GeekSugar

Awesome Time Waster: The YouTube Piano

GeekSugar — Wed, 13 Jan 2010 14:00:08 PST

You have a few extra minutes in your day? Then play along with this amazing time waster and enjoy the YouTube piano. Thanks to some skillful timed bookmarking, you can actually play the notes in this video like you would if the piano was sitting right in front of you. So let out your inner Josh Baskin and tickle those ivories! There was a midi keyboard version floating around last year, but I gotta tell ya, the real thing is just so much better. Hit play and let the video load, then unleash your inner composer below!

How Photoshop Works Its Digital Lipo Magic

GeekSugar — Fri, 18 May 2007 10:00:39 PDT

If you've ever wondered how models and celebrities can appear so picture perfect in magazines you can stop wondering. Beyonce may have looked flawless for her Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition photoshoot, but something tells me even she has a little help from the photoshop gods. It's common knowledge that photo editors remove cellulite, erase stretch marks, blur wrinkles, hide pimples, slim, tone, adjust, tweak, lengthen, shorten, lighten, darken and re-touch images before they send them to the press, but what does that transformation look like? Check out this video and witness a woman drop from a size 20 to a size 8 right before your very eyes...all because of Dr. Photoshop...no cutting, tucking, lipo, dieting or exercising required.

I don't know about you, but it's somewhat shocking how quickly an image can be transformed. I'm not opposed to a little digital nip and tuck but being totally altered is not what I'd call a digital enhancement.

Viacom Sues Google For One Billion Dollars

GeekSugar — Tue, 13 Mar 2007 09:42:25 PDT

Media giant Viacom, the parent company of networks like MTV, Comedy Central and the Cartoon Network, put the smack down today suing Google and YouTube for “massive intentional copyright infringement.” Viacom has been fighting with YouTube for some time over clips of Viacom programs and shows that end up on the site, and is now asking for $1 billion in damages. As we all know, Google bought YouTube recently for 1.65 billion, so $1 billion isn't exactly chump change. Here's more:

Viacom accused the video-sharing Web site of “exploiting the devotion of fans to others’ creative work in order to enrich itself.” It added: “There is no question that YouTube and Google are continuing to take the fruit of our efforts without permission and destroying enormous value in the process.”

The lawsuit is the latest scuffle between YouTube and Viacom. Last month, Viacom demanded that YouTube remove more than 100,000 clips of its programming. YouTube complied, and in some cases posted a disclaimer that read: “removed at the request of Viacom International” where Viacom material once was.

Viacom said 160,000 clips of its programming have been available on YouTube and that they had been viewed more than 1.5 billion times. Somewhere, Austin Powers is getting really excited about the return of the "1 billion dollars."

No TV or Video For Two Years? Tube Dangerous For Kids Under 2, Say Pediatricians

Yahoo Shine — Mon, 24 Oct 2011 11:33:38 PDT

We're happy to present this article from one of our favorite sites, Yahoo! Shine:

The American Academy of Pediatrics issued a stern warning to parents: TV is bad for kids under 2. And not just some TV shows, all moving screens with pictures.

That means "Yo Gabba Gabba", but also the football game playing in the living room or the Youtube clip buffering on your iPad.

A statement on the AAP website stops short of calling the glowing moving images on your iPhone that transfix your baby what it sometimes appears to be: kid-crack.

"The Academy is concerned about the impact of television programming intended for children younger than age two and how it could affect your child's development," says a statement on the AAP website. "Pediatricians strongly oppose targeted programming, especially when it's used to market toys, games, dolls, unhealthy food and other products to toddlers. Any positive effect of television on infants and toddlers is still open to question, but the benefits of parent-child interactions are proven." Keep reading for the rest of this story.